Annabeth Chase and the Lost Hero
by AC and AM
Summary: Annabeth's version of the Lost Hero. When Percy goes missing, Annabeth, Jason, and 2 other demigods work together to find him.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The New Consolers Play With Knives 02:17

My gods, I never thought that I would be doing this right now, believe me. To be honest, this is highly dangerous and I was against this idea from the beginning. I don't mean to be rude towards you, but you need to know that if this got into the wrong hands, let's say that I would be putting a lot more people than just you and me at risk. And trust me things like that happen all of the time here. But he convinced me. He kept on saying that people seeing our story from my perspective would help all of you to understand more, although I have no idea why (Thanks Seaweed Brain!). So I hope you don't blame me for any of the difficulties you may encounter after you finish this. And if you happen to do so, I apologize ahead of time (But you should really blame Percy).

The day that camp started up this year was an incredibly exciting one. Usually, it would be depressing when I had to leave my dad after spending the school year with him and San Francisco. I love my dad, and it's not a good feeling when I know I won't see him for a long time. Of course, it wasn't so terrible to say goodbye to my step mom, if you'd even call it a goodbye. It was normally a quick "See you later", followed by a scowl on the way out the door. She was always jealous of my mom. Having to look at me right when she woke up in the morning really didn't appeal to her, knowing that she didn't have the beauty of my mother. Jealousy of a goddess, that's pretty typical. Although it's pointless to me. Who could ever compare to Athena? No one could, that's who. Well, maybe Aphrodite, but she could definitely NOT compare to Athena's wits (Sorry Selena). Anyway, this school year was different. For the main reason, I was staying in New York, attending the Oakridge Private Boarding Academy. It was this new fancy school my dad had given me permission to attend. It didn't appeal to me that much, but it was better than staying in California, especially since Percy and I were now finally together. And to be honest, I don't think either of us would have been happy of I had been as far away as the opposite coast.

Percy and his mom were going to pick me up around eight thirty, so I had just about and hour to finish packing little things, like my laptop and Yankees cap. I guess I shouldn't have gotten up so early, but I didn't want to spend all of my time sleeping, and I certainly couldn't go back to sleep now. I was way too excited to even think straight. Camp Half Blood has been my home for as long as I can remember. I have spent more summers there than any other demigod, and I have my necklace to prove it. I look forward to this day every year because it's the day where I can stop pretending to be a normal girl and start being me, Annabeth, daughter of Athena. Even if no human really knew that. I never had to watch myself at camp to make sure that I wasn't showing my dagger, or accidently putting my cap on and turning invisible (It's a habit that has happened once or twice). And it's the same with other campers. Grover for example had to wear long pants and sneakers, even on the hottest days of the year. And Percy always has to be careful not to explode toilets or something. And we can never be completely sure that we are safe twenty four seven either. At any point in time, a Hellhound or a Kindly One could be on our tales (not that I don't know how to handle them). But either way, I would never trade me life. If I could choose to not be a demigod, and be a human or immortal, I wouldn't. I will admit thought that I had once been interested in joining the Hunters of Artemis, which would mean that I would be a maiden forever and be immortal. In the end, however, I couldn't do it. It didn't seem right and I was needed elsewhere. I could tell Percy was worried about it. And I don't blame him. Last summer when the gods offered Percy the ultimate gift, a chance to become and actual god and have a throne on Mount Olympus, I about almost passed out right in front of the gods. And that would have been very embarrassing. I knew that he thought back to when I was given a choice to be immortal, and how much he didn't want that to happen. I could just tell. Bt still, a fear ran through me that maybe Percy didn't feel the same way that I did about it. And he surprised me when he turned the generous offer down. Of course some of the campers chose their own path. Thalia, my friend who was Zeus's daughter, was chosen as Artemis's lieutenant hunter and was never going to see her sixteenth birthday. And that seemed okay to her. I occasionally saw her from time to time and she would tell me how much happier she was. I never thought Thalia would say that her life was much more enjoyable now that she had given up boys and switched to shooting animals. But that was Thalia, she has the most bravery of all of us campers and she will never cease to surprise you.

At seven fifty two, I walked outside the doors of my school. I wasn't sure if I was going here after the summer ended, but he chances were likely, so it wasn't like I was going to miss the place. I carried my trunks down the steps and to my surprise, Sally Jackson's car was parked right out front, with the back door and trunk already open for me.

"Hi sweetie!", she called.

I liked Sally. She always knew that right thing to say to you when you needed a little encouragement. I said a quick hello back to her and headed to the rear of the car. Percy climbed out an greeted me with a hug.

"You're early", I said obviously.

They were never early, much less on time to any event. But regardless, there they were, not on time, but before I had expected them to come. It almost made me feel late.

"Yeah, well I thought we would get to camp early, now that we're counselors", he replied. "We should probably help Chiron set up everything. I have a feeling he will need the help".

I had a good feeling that he was right too. Now that Percy had ordered all the gods to identify their children, the camp had been swarming with new demigods. We were some of the older campers, so we signed up to be counselors instead. We would still get to do all of the activities, like capture the flag. But we would just be teaching others how to fight in battle, or how to use powers, if they had any. And I had to admit, I was excited for the new change.

We closed the trunk together and climbed in the backseat of the small car.

He started, "Going to miss this place much?"

I knew he was teasing me. I never liked school, and I didn't exactly fit in. He knew that too, he was going through the same thing. Dyslexia and all of the other lovely disadvantages for learning came with being a demigod. Not to mention people thinking you're a freak because you had to fight a pack of furies after fourth period. We all went through this. And Percy and I had talked many times about how we can't wait for summer to start so we could leave it all behind.

"Gods, give me a break", I said annoyingly.

"Come on, you couldn't have hated it that badly. I just know that you're dying to some back next year and spend time with all your new best friends!", more teasing just kept coming from him.

I couldn't believe that he found this amusing!

"I would rather take a dive in Styx!", and that was not a lie!

"That wasn't so bad actually, the sting doesn't hurt you so much"

Surprisingly, I was sort of jealous of Percy and the fact that he now was about thirty times stronger than he used to be after jumping in the River Styx. At first I was mad, then sort of flattered when he trusted me enough to show me where his Achilles spot was, and now, I don't mind it so much. He's still Percy and he hasn't changed at all since that day. But I always wonder how I might turn out if I decided to take a little dip…

"What I mean, Seaweed Brain, is that I could NOT be more anxious to get out of here. It's been hard, okay? I just can't wait for this summer to start."

Sally started to pull out of the parking lot and all I could think inside was FINALLY! If I had to push this car for the whole journey to Camp Half Blood, I would do it; anything to get us there as soon as possible.

"Me either", he said. And holy Zeus, he intertwined his fingers in mine. I loved moments like this when Percy and I could just be ourselves. Not afraid to tell each other something. For years, we had followed along with the fact that we were just best friends. And we were. But somewhere along the long missions and almost death traps we had encountered in the last few years, something clicked. I had gone from hating Percy for being the son of one of the big three, to finding a best friend in him. I can truly say that I couldn't trust anyone like him.

The long drive to camp was mostly filled with me showing Percy my plans for re-building Olympus on Daedalus's laptop, and then having a usual debate on Poseidon vs. Athena (Although it's clear who one! Yeah, Seaweed Brain…I won. So deal with it). Sally constantly kept asking me questions about my family, which wasn't an easy subject for me, as you can imagine. I tried to reply as best as I could without showing her that it was obvious that I was uncomfortable. It must have worked, because the questions kept on coming. Percy could tell, of course. And he occasionally tried to shut her up, but I told him it was okay. I didn't mind telling Sally that much. Finally, we approached the area just outside of camp. Since Percy's mom couldn't go any further then the boundary line, that meant we would have to walk the rest of the way. Percy and I unpacked our trunks from the back and I saw him grab a shiny watch from the side pocket. I recognized it immediately. Percy's shield was made by his half brother Tyson, who was a six foot tall Cyclops. He and Percy were very close and I could see how much he missed Tyson when he looked at the watch on his wrist.

"Have you talked to Tyson lately?", I asked hopefully.

I was afraid that I would get a bad answer and make him feel worse, but I missed Tyson too. And I was curious to know how life under the sea was going for him. After Poseidon claimed Tyson, he started to work on making weapons in Poseidon's underwater kingdom with the other Cyclopes.

"I Iris messaged him a few days ago. He says he is doing great, spending time with "daddy" more often. ", he said.

I almost got the slightest impression that he was jealous of Tyson and his dad hanging out.

"I'm sure that he misses you a lot Percy, he'll visit soon and then you two can spend tons of time together."

"That' s what he said he wanted to do. And he has another weapon he wanted to give me. You too, he mentioned he made you a new dagger. He kept asking about you again…", he smirked.

I giggled. Tyson always asked about me and how I was doing. We weren't necessarily friends to start out with. I had trust issues you could say. But Tyson never judged me, and now he considered me one of his favorite demigods, or at least, that's what Percy always tells me.

"Why did he make me a new dagger? The one I have now is fine." I reached into me belt loop and pulled out my knife. Seeing it only reminded me of one night, one battle, and one person. Luke. He reminded me that even if a trusted friend betrays you, there is always hope that he will do what's right in the end. I couldn't really remember much from that night, just a few things like wanting to rip my arm off, and Percy screaming for me and at Luke…Kronos…both of them whatever. Most of all, I remember his eyes. It was his body, but not his eyes. The eyes were gold, pure brilliant gold. But they weren't the kind that made me want to stare into them more. They were full of rage and anger that had been bottled up in the Titan for centuries. I remember talking to Luke and reminding him of the promise he made me when we were little Family. And in the end, he realized what he had done, and it was really him who saved us from defeat. I almost forgot the conversation I was having and realized that I was staring at my knife, taking everything in again. Thankfully, Percy was too busy unloading the rest of our things to notice.

"Well I suppose it won't be as good as a cursed blade that reaped a hero's soul, but it should keep the spiders away at night." More sarcasm. I smiled and punched him lightly in the shoulder. I know he didn't mean anything by bringing up Luke. He respected him now just as much as me. So I decided that I would let it go (Just this one time).

"We should find Chiron, before more campers arrive", I said.

He agreed with a nod of his head and we left after a few goodbye kisses from his mommy (Yep, I told you I would mention it, Percy). We made our way to the entrance of the camp. I could already tell that this year was going to be different. I couldn't quite figure our how, of the reason why it seemed like it would be a challenge for us. I pushed the thought away for now and focused on the only thing that felt reassuring to me. Home.


	2. Chapter 2

We Get Not-So-Good News From Our Parents 18:52

I normally would glance down form Half Blood Hill and take in the same camp I have been going to for over nine years. Usually, everything has remained exactly the same. Well, this was far from what we were used to. It was almost as if it was an entirely different camp. Around us, the noises and smells of construction were overpoweringly unfamiliar. The new cabins were still being built, which pretty much meant that it would get very crowded this year with new campers and that the Hermes cabin would not be too happy when they arrived. We decided we would drop our belongings off first in our cabins and the go find Chiron in the Big House.

We started towards the Athena cabin first, which, with luck, hadn't been introduced to any new changes. I didn't see any other belongings on the bunks. And that meant that no campers had settled in yet, or that if they had, the cleaning Harpies must have done an excellent job. It took about ten minutes to move into my cabin, putting everything in its place, which was frankly more like scattering it all over my bed. We made our way to cabin three, which was Poseidon's. Percy was lucky to have it all to himself, aside from when Tyson visited occasionally. When you entered the cabin, the smell of sea water was more present here than in any other place at camp. If you were to close your eyes, it wouldn't feel much different from standing on the beach. The noise of the water trickling down the Iris Message fountain was the only sound coming from his room. But that is not what caught our attention the most. Above the top of the stony fountain, a glowing shape was hovering. I guess you could call it a sphere, one that was indicating to us that a message was waiting for Percy. I tried to think: Who would send Percy a message at this time? It could be his mom, but we just had said goodbye to her fifteen minutes ago. Chiron perhaps, to welcome us. But than again, we were just about on our way to visit him. My curiosity for who it was just got stronger and stronger with each thought. A voice from the circle spoke:

"Please deposit one golden drachma to receive your message."

Percy fumbled around in the pockets of his suitcase until he cam across his bag of drachmas. He reached into the sphere and inserted one coin. An image slowly waved in front of us. The background was a dark blue, and I swear, I could see bubbles moving upward throughout the picture. That was not the what surprised me the most. I had seen Poseidon many times before on Mount Olympus. He regularly had short, black hair, like Percy's, and a little bit of scruffle for his beard. His clothes mainly consisted of a Hawaiian T-shirt, and Bermuda shorts. His eyes, also like his son's, were a glossy sea green. Except the god standing in front of me now was almost entirely different. The sea god's hair was long and gray, as was his new beard. He wore battle armor, and held his trident high in his right hand. And instead from having sea green eyes, they were dark, almost black, and full of concern. He did not look good to me. I wondered if Percy had ever seen him like this before.

"My son", he spoke. "I understand that you have already fulfilled the great prophecy last summer, and you expect no more troubling news. I don't not mean to disturb you ate this time. But you must know that I worry. You and your fellow demigods may not be completely safe at Camp Half Blood. Your lives may be in slight danger. I cannot tell you the reason for which I am concerned, and I only ask that you do not take action, or interfere. You have already been through entirely too much trouble. I have spoken to Chiron about this subject of which I speak, and he has agreed to protect the camp and you young ones as best as he can. I trust he will inform you and your other fellow consolers this afternoon about new plans and protection laws. Do not worry so much Percy. Everything is in good hands. Tyson, by the way says hello to you and, uh, Annabeth."

As he said this, Tyson appeared on the screen with a "Hi big brother and Annabeth!" But he had Peanut Butter in his mouth. So it came out more like, "Why wig vrover an wanneveff". I giggled. I looked over to Percy, but he was to preoccupied by his father's words to laugh at Tyson as well.

Poseidon spoke again. "Be strong Perceus. Do your best to listen, and please leave the rest to the others and me on Olympus. I hope that you respect my wishes even though you lack the knowledge about this situation. I shall speak to you soon. Stay safe." And with that last line, he vanished, leaving us more confused than before.

"What could he have meant by that?" It was Percy talking this time.

"I think that there is only one person who can tell us, we should see Chiron. Now."

"I highly doubt that he will tell us when my own father refused to.", he replied. I could tell that he was almost as angry about being out of the loop as much as I was.

"We don't know that Percy. Chiron knows what's best for us campers more than anyone else. We have to talk with him immediately", I said.

He knew that hat was right, and we nearly ran to the Big House to meet with Chiron. He was hard to miss. He stood behind the ping pawn table, his white horse back taking up nearly half of the area around it. We approached the centaur quickly.

"Annabeth, and Percy! Welcome back! Did you have a pleasant trip? How is your mother Percy? I have been meaning to speak with her for some time."

I couldn't really tell whether this was really what he intended to talk about, or if he was avoiding the subject that he knew we came to ask questions about. Either way, I jumped right in.

"Chiron, we just received a message from Percy's dad", I said simply, because this was something I figured he already knew. Percy started trying to get answers out of him.

"What's is going on Chiron? We just got done fighting a major battle against the Titan lord last year, and now my dad is saying that MORE danger is coming? How can that be possible after nearly being killed a thousand times?" I couldn't argue with that. It seemed that even though we had faced many, many near-death experiences, we couldn't escape more. It's like we were a magnet of some kind. Or that there was a big glowing sigh above our heads flashing: DEMIGODS HERE! COME ALL MONSTERS…ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET! It wasn't fair.

"I understand how you two must feel about this. But you have to trust me when I say that you really should not worry. I have set up multiple defense posts along the borders of camp, and an exceeding amount of magic is being used to keep all things away," said Chiron.

"What kind of things?", I answered.

"Things that are very minor and are nothing you should waste your time being concerned about."

Ah! Centaurs! Why do they have to be so stubborn? He was driving me crazy. I hate it when people pull the whole, I know something you don't know, do dah, do dah, trick on you. Even when Chiron wasn't really bragging about it, it still felt as if there was a wall between me and everyone else. Like I couldn't through to them even if I tried.

"If it's nothing that we should be scared of, then why can't we know?"

"I would much rather deal with this and leave you two out of it. I don't want to make you do anything. You have already been a great help in the past. If anything is my main priority, it is keeping you, and all of the others safe and not involved." It seemed that even when we were pushing like Shisyphus pushes his rock up the hill again, and again, we weren't getting anywhere.

"If you tell us what exactly is going on, we will have a better idea of what to expect.", said Percy.

I urged on. "We want to help Chiron. You aren't making us do anything. We're volunteering."

"Your father wishes for you to leave this alone Percy. And no doubt your mother would say the same to you Annabeth. Now, I don't mean to be strict with you both. But this is what's best. I have to see that the rest of the campers arrive alright. I shall see you at dinner tonight." Chiron galloped across the room and through the rest of the camp. I started to walk outside with Percy following along next to me. I hate this. Did they gods not trust us? Did they know what we had been through before this? Sure, we could handle four years of battling major evil Titans who were constantly trying to kill us. But we couldn't even know hat had the gods on red alert. In a way, I felt kind of betrayed. Not the kind of betrayed that I have been through before, the kind that hits you way down deep. More like the small kind, but the one that still hurts. I wanted to talk to my mom. She would tell me, wouldn't she? She always has. That's all I needed to do.

"We should just relax a little. I'm sure that I can get my mom to tell us what is making everyone so freaked out. I'll Iris message her tonight, and then I'll meet you at dinner later one and let you know what she-"

"That's not going to happen, Wise Girl! You heard what Chiron said. They're keeping us out of it. All of them are. You're mom will be the same. I highly doubt that she will tell us anything.", Percy interrupted. It wasn't like him to doubt my mom. He didn't know what went on between us. Athena might not get along so well with Poseidon's son, but I had a feeling that she would tell her daughter anything (I'm special like that).

"You don't know that! You have no clue what happens with me and my mom, Percy.", I yelled. I couldn't help it. I was ticked off about feeling so unwise for once on my life. And that is not a feeling that a child of Athena should or want to experience.

"Yeah, well maybe it's better if we don't ask at all.", he said.

"You're-You're kidding, right? You can't actually think…", said shocked. But he interrupted.

"It's what's best!", he yelled back. "my father knows what's best and I need to trust him."

"So you're going to believe the people who are lying to you?"

"It's my dad! I trust him more than anyone I know!, he yelled back.

"More, than me? You know that I would never lie to you Percy!"

"Maybe not, but unlike my dad, you think you always think you know everything! So right now, I think I trust him a little bit more than you!" He was pushing my last nerve.

"Well, Seaweed Brain," I pushed him a little. "I need to trust my instincts! And right now, they're telling me that I need to figure out what's going on. You can go ahead and sit back, and let people get hurt. But not me!" I was being completely and unnecessarily rude, I know. But he couldn't just think that not doing anything was what was best!

"I want to help out as much as you want to, and you know that. But you need to listen to what they said, Annabeth. You can't just run around and do what you want. You'll get in trouble! You need to listen more so you don't do anything stupid!"

That hurt. Me. Daughter of Athena, being called stupid. I know people are called that word all of the time, but I had never been called that once. Ever. And those words stung worse than a poisoned knife in my arm (And that really did hurt). I could see that he regretted it once the words came out of his mouth. I just stood their shocked, to stunned to say anything. I wanted to yell back, but I couldn't (which was NOT like me at all).

"Annabeth, I…", he started.

"Uh", I interrupted. "I better go…uh…welcome some campers." And I left, walking away with a stinging feeling in my eyes. Dumb Seaweed Brain. Why did he always have to set my off like this? He made me feel so…infuriated!

There was only one person (of you call her a person) that I wanted to speak to. I ran into cabin eight and pulled a drachma out of my bag. I needed to talk to her. And the only way I could do that was to use Percy's fountain. Maybe he wouldn't be back at his cabin yet. But at this point, I didn't care whether he was or not. I checked outside. It didn't look like anyone was around, so I slipped quietly into his room. I threw the coin into the water as I spoke: "Oh, goddess. Except my offering."

The gold coin disappeared and I spoke again, "Goddess Athena, Mount Olympus".

The image appeared with my mother standing outside next to a statue that was almost done being built. Typical that each god would watch over their own statues while they were under construction.

"Make sure that that marble is properly sanded down! I want no rough edges, do you year me? And my hair is not that short, are you blind?"

"Mom!", I yelled over the noises of working.

She whipped her head around so fast that I swear to Hades the image blurred up a little.

"Annabeth dear!", she said with sort of a stunned voice. And then she saw me face in the state that I was in. "What is the matter? Is everything alright at camp?"

"Mom, no one will tell me what's happening. I feel dumb, do you even KNOW how bad that feels? And, you're the only one that I could think of who would help me…".

She was quiet for a few seconds. I didn't want to believe it, but Percy might be right. Maybe mom wouldn't let me in on the secret, regardless how much a begged.

"Sweatheart, I'm not sure that this is the time or place for this right now…", she replied. "Perhaps you should speak to Chiron about this-"

"Percy and I already tried! Nobody will tell me anything. Mom please! I need to know."

"I know you're very confused right now, and I know it can be frustrating. But Chiron doesn't want you to know, than maybe that's what is best.", he said. And hearing those words again out of somebody else's mouth made me want to feed myself to Mrs. O'Leary.

I protested, "No! It's not what is best. It can't be…I want to help!"

"I know you do, Annabeth. All will be well. All you need to do is listen to us. We know what to do and so does Chiron. Don't try to do something about it please, just leave it as it is. I have to go and oversee the construction of the new throne room now. God Luck, and please, sweetie, follow orders."

The picture of Olympus faded and I was looking at Percy's room again. I was filled to the top with more anger than I had ever had before. Did everyone think that they could tell me what was the right thing for me to do? Annabeth, don't interfere. Annabeth, follow orders. Annabeth, don't do anything stupid. I knew what was right for me, and I was going to follow that path. I WOULD find out the answer whether they liked it or not. I was going to protect the camp to the best of my abilities. And Percy didn't have to help me. I really couldn't have cared any less if all he wanted to do all day was swing his sword and talk to horses. I would not be wasting my time.

I walked back to my Cabin, not wanting to go to dinner. I figured I would work on my laptop for a few hours and then go to sleep early. I would need a lightning bolt's worth of energy tomorrow if I was going to find some answers. And when I laid down on my bunk, I couldn't help but to feel a little alone. I shut everybody else out of my head, closed my eyes, and promised myself that I would discover the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: A Bush Cries On My Shoulder 22:52

I felt horrible. Really horrible. And to top it off, it was the kind of horrible that you wake up to. The kind that lasts all day and not even the most intense work outs can overpower. I jumped off my bunk and took a good look at myself in the mirror. Great. Turns out that my mood decided to take a toll on my physical appearance this morning, which meant that someone was bound to know that something was wrong with me. And that meant that they were going to ask questions, and that meant that I would be stuck trying to answer those uncomfortable questions. Gods save me. I brushed through my impossible hair until I came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to get any better, and threw it up in a ponytail. My eyes were big, red, and miserably puffy. But I knew that nothing could be done about them, so I tried my best to avoid looking at them. That would be a good start, and good practice. I would be doing a lot of avoiding today

Only when I was outside my cabin did I realize what I promised myself I was going to do today. Answers. I needed them, it was one of my jobs to protect the camp. So I reminded myself that no girl, boy, or kelp-headed demigod could stop me and that was that. That little boost of confidence was enough to get myself walking to the big house. I figured I would start with Chiron again. I just knew that he meant well and that he would never keep anything from me. Maybe he didn't want to tell me because Percy was there. Maybe Percy was too immature to handle the truth from him (which would NOT be very surprising). If I could speak with Chiron alone, the answers just might come pouring out. I noticed that the big house wasn't really that crowded. There were just a couple of Apollo kids in the corner practicing instruments, and the Ares cabin was involved in an intense game of ping pong. I noticed one of the Apollo girls looking at me. She had brown hair, almost like a light chestnut color. She must have been new because I hadn't seen her here last summer. She kept looking at me from the corner of her eye, like she thought so knew me, but didn't want me to know that. Then she smiled as a voice behind me broke my gaze from her.

"Annabeth! Hey, I thought that was you!"

"Nico! How have you been? Gods I haven't seen you in ages. When did you get to camp?", I said while hugging the son of Hades.

"Just last night. I got in really late. I thought that I might come and check in with you and Percy, but I figure that you two would have already be sleeping," he replied.

"I went to bed really early. You probably wouldn't have caught me," I said quickly. I couldn't stand to even think about the awkwardness that would result from Nico trying to spend time with me and Percy after our feud last night.

"Really?," he said. "Were you feeling okay?"

"Uh, yeah fine. I was just tired is all.", I lied.

"I know you, Annabeth. What happened?"

I couldn't lie to Nico. I mean I could try, but it wasn't really worth lying to someone when they knew that you weren't telling the truth anyway. He was one of my best friends at camp. And he was right. He knew me. Not as well as others did, but he understood me well enough to know when I was avoiding the question.

"Was it the prophecy? The one about the seven?," he urged.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I mean. There is something going on here. And no one will tell me what's happening. I tried to talk to Chiron and my mom, but they say that it's nothing to be worried about, or maybe they just don't want to tell me yet…I don't know," I reassured him.

Nico didn't look the least bit concerned with what I said.

"Well if they have everything under control, and they say not to worry, then why are you concerned?"

"Because I want to know! I have to, Nico! Don't act like you don't care about what happens around here."

Nico backed up a little. "Whoa, there. I didn't say anything about not caring. I was just asking. Who stuck an arrow in your back this morning?"

Okay, I shouldn't have done that. I'll admit. Nico didn't offend me or anything. He didn't try to start a fight with me. So why was I getting all worked up?

"Nico, I'm sorry. It's got nothing to do with you. I'm just frustrated. Too many things are going wrong right now."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think that there is more to the story here. Do you have anything else that you want to tell me?", He asked.

"No." Lie.

"You're sure?"

I was choking. Should I tell him about what happened last night between me and Percy? Would he understand, or would he think we were just being another cliché couple who fight about the most random things? But then again, this was Nico. And besides Grover, he was the only person I could talk to about things like this.

I took a deep breath. "Percy and I argued about it a little."

"How much is a little?", he pushed.

Uh oh. He knew me a little too well.

"I don't know, we just fought, and we screamed. He told me that leaving it alone would be what's best, which it's not. And then I told him that we couldn't just sit back while people here might be in trouble." I felt tears stinging my eyes while I pictured last night.

And now that I looked back on it, all the harsh words, and the arguing about who was right, it all seemed so ridiculous. This time, I felt like the Seaweed Brain. How could I let something like a little argument get in the way or me and Percy? My eyes were wide, and I could fell my expression change from rage to realization. I looked up at Nico, half expecting him to be comforting, but instead he stood there, arms crossed and eyebrows raised as if saying, "Are you kidding me?" But I knew Nico to be the more honest friend, the one who tells it to you straight no matter how much you don't want to hear it.

"What have I done? I'm so stupid!" I cried. I sat down on the pool table and buried my face on my hands. Nico put a hand on my shoulder.

"You guys had a fight. Everyone does now and then. Gods, and humans."

And at this moment, when I was silently crying, was when the Apollo girl decide to walk towards Nico and I. Great timing.

"Hey Nico," she said. So she knew him? Okay…

"Macy. Enjoying your new life here yet?", Nico replied to the girl.

"It's not my new life, just twisted and tweaked in some areas. And you must be Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend right?"

My answer was stuck in my throat. It wouldn't come out even after all the times I said, "Uh, uh, uummm" She knew Percy. And Nico. And Me. And didn't know her. But somehow she seemed to know all the details about us.

I looked at Nico, trying to ignore what had just hit me in the stomach like a brick. You're Percy's girlfriend right? Was I? I had no idea. Was I not? If I wasn't, that would be my fault. All of it.

Nico was right.

I was being ridiculous. We both were, and now I knew that now.

Percy might have said that I was being stupid. He also assumed that he knew what was the best thing for everybody, but them again, so did I. I didn't want to answer the question that hung in the air, waiting. I just did the easiest thing that any demigod can do: run.

I sprinted towards the woods in hopes of finding him and apologizing for acting the way I did. If anything, I just wanted to make things right. It was then that I heard the crying. I turned the corner around a few trees. I saw Juniper, lying on a picnic blanket, and sobbing. I ran over and rolled her on her side.

"Juniper! Are you alright. Are you hurt? I knew this would happen if we didn't do something! I'll get you to the infirmary," I tried to pick her up but she squirmed in my arms.

"No, Annabeth, I'm okay, really. Put me down," she balled.

"Then why in Hades are you crying?"

Green tears flooded her eyes. Remarkably, she still looked pretty (Why couldn't I be that lucky?)

"Grover and I were supposed to have a picnic date today. I packed all of his favorites, even an empty six pack of coke, but he never showed up!" She cried on my shoulder. This was typical of Juniper. Always worrying about her and Grover. Regardless of how unimportant I thought this was at the moment, I patted her back and gave her a hug.

"Grover is crazy about you. You would never miss your date on purpose and you know that!"

"How do you know that he didn't blow me off to have lunch with some Spruce?," she questioned.

"Because, he's my best friend. He tells me all the time about how much you mean to him. He would never want to hurt you in any way. He loves you!"

She wipes her eyes. "Really?"

I rolled my eyes as if I was saying "DUH!"

"Of course! Juniper, I understand that you worry about him. But he would never do that to you. I know Grover. Trust me!", I urged.

She giggled, realizing how much sense it all made now.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Annabeth. I swear, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Right back at you.", I mentioned with a smile. "Have you by any chance seen Percy today?"

She stood up with me. "No, I haven't. I actually didn't realize that he was here yet."

"He and I arrived yesterday. And I have to talk to him.", I said getting a little impatient. It would be nice if Percy could stay in one spot for a while so I could at least find him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know where he could be. Maybe you should check in with Chiron. He would probably know," she said.

That was likely. Chiron didn't keep an eye on anyone more than Percy. I hugged Juniper and backtracked to camp. I was rounding the corner of the big house again when I felt a shock go through my body. I fell to the ground, clutching my shoulder where the pain had started. I cursed in ancient Greek. And when I rolled over, I glanced up to see no other than Clarisse and Mamer (ehem, Lamer!) above me. Oh lovely, just what I needed, getting electrocuted by Clarisse's spear, while I was looking for an angry boy to whom I needed to apologize to. Pain moved throughout my arm. I managed to stand up, but had to use the side of the building for support.

"Well, you're lucky it wasn't on the highest level of electrocution," she said.

"Thank you for apologizing. I forgive you Clarisse,"

She smirked and step sided to get out of my way (Don't take that for politeness).

I jumped around and quickly asked, "Wait, did you see Chiron in there?"

"Nope, haven't all morning. Mr. D says that he had to run an errand and that he won't be back until later." And with that, she just left. Caring less than any child of Ares could.

Chiron ran errands. I wondered where a centaur would go to run errands. I'm guessing not your average grocery store. But I was thinking that this had something to do with what he couldn't tell me. And maybe Chiron was handling it just fine. He said would be back soon, and then he might be able to let me know if things were alright. He could do that at least to ease my pain a little.

I scarfed lunch down faster than I had ever before. I didn't want to miss Chiron when he got back. I waited on the steps for almost two hours, wanting to rest my eyes a little, but fighting to keep them open the entire time. I almost, almost, fell asleep until I saw the familiar legs of my favorite satyr walking passed the Hera Cabin.

"Grover," I screamed. He looked almost relieved to see me. He slowly walked over and that's when I noticed that he didn't look himself. I figured maybe Juniper caught up with him and that she didn't let his absence this afternoon go unexcused. I caught up to him.

"Hey, did Juniper find you. She wasn't doing so well this afternoon. She thought you forgot about her."

"I didn't forget about her," he stated. "Something more important came up."

I made a confused face. "Something else came up? What?"

"Annabeth, this is something that's very hard for me to say", he said. "Something that will affect all of us."

I answered, "Everybody, then you should tell Chiron so he can make an announcement."

"Chiron already knows," he stated.

"Oh, then it shouldn't be long before he calls us all into the big house for a meeting. I'll just go and grab Percy. I need to talk to him anyway."

I started towards his cabin. I had only made a few steps before Grover appeared in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Annabeth, come on, I will explain everything to you on the way. Just come with me."

Why was Grover pressuring me like this?

"You should go catch up with Juniper, she wants to see you. And I need to see Percy!" I started walking again.

"No, please. Just listen to me," he begged.

"I'll listen to Chiron in a minute, just let me go and find Percy!"

"YOU WON'T FIND HIM," he yelled. But not the harsh kind of yelling. More like he was hurting himself by yelling. Like it was his own fault that he was angry.

"What-what do you mean, Grover?"

Grover looked down at his hooves, and then faced me with a face filled with more remorse than I had ever seen.

"He's gone, Annabeth. He's not here. No one has heard from him. Percy went missing last night."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: I Make A Promise To A Cyclops 21:40

There are two categories that define me best. Usually, people who know the truth about the gods refer to me as "demigod". And others who see me randomly strolling by would call me a "teenage girl". Over the summer, my thoughts and actions are the ones of a demigod. And in the school year, teenage hormones would occupy most of my mind. I normally try my hardest not to let the emotions from both of those terms to combine together, because if they did, I'm sure that I would be one scary person.

But at that moment, I was pretty sure that I was experiencing every feeling possible. Those from a daughter of a god to being a seventeen year old girl.

Shock

Denial

Anger

Outrage

Misery

Anger (again)

Guilt

Loneliness

Aren't I supposed to be the wise one?

Grover had explained every little detail to me. Early yesterday morning, when Grover had not found Percy in his room, he and Chiron immediately searched camp for him (without telling me). When there was no sign of him in any surrounding areas, Chiron contacted other centaurs (party ponies) to see if any others had spotted him (without telling me). When he heard no news later that night, he iris messaged Poseidon about the news of his son's disappearance. Tyson was in agony to hear the news. At first, they had agreed not to mention to him about what happened to Percy. But you can't keep that big of a secret from his brother forever (And again, they did all of this without telling me). Aren't I supposed to be the wise one?

Chiron was still out, which meant that I couldn't speak with him at all. I was going to ask him right away for permission to join the search. What else would I do? Come on. He, of course, probably already knew that I was never going to sit back and let others take care of this. This was Percy, and I was about ready to explode with worry that I might never get to see him again.

But there was nothing I could do now, not with Chiron gone from camp. I would have to wait for him to return before I could tell him I was leaving. I didn't want him thinking that another demigod had gone missing. Since I had so much free time, I decided to do something very difficult. I knew Tyson was probably sunken with misery right now. So I went to Percy's cabin again, something that was very hard to do at the moment, and used the iris message fountain. When I walked in, everything was still in its place. It was like he had never left at all. All of his clothes were still there in his bag, and his bed was still unmade. Almost everything was there. I knew for a fact that Riptide would follow him wherever he went, and his shield was still around his wrist. Well, at least he wasn't defenseless. That was a plus. I found a golden drachma in his drawer and through it into the fountain. I said Tyson's name and the location and there, appearing in front of me, was a miserable, crying, Cyclops.

"Oh, Tyson," I said with a guilty face.

He looked up, startled and questionable at the same time.

"Annabeth," he cried.

"Hey big buddy, it's good to see you," I remarked, only trying to lighten the mood that was keeping us both depressed. Of course Tyson wanted to talk about it right away.

"Where' Percy? I miss him. I thought he was protected!"

I sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"I know, Tyson, I did too. And I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is right now."

He sobbed more. "You miss him too, don't you, Annabeth?"

I felt my eyes water a little. From both he fact of watching Tyson crying, and being reminded of how much I missed Percy.

"Yeah, I do."

"Who could be so mean to do this? I though we beat all of the bad guys last year," he said confused.

"There are other bad guys out there Tyson. But I can promise you that they won't win. I will bring him back, okay?"

He choked back a sob. "Promise?"

"Always," I answered simply. "I will call you later okay?"

"Okay, Annabeth. Good Luck."

The image went away, and I felt way worse than I did five minutes ago. I hadn't talked to Grover about plans for the search. Actually, I wasn't even sure that he wanted to do it yet. Well, sure he did, right? I mean, Percy is his best friend. He wouldn't so anything besides help me look for him. But apparently I wasn't as smart as I thought.

"Baahha, have you lost your mind?", Grover said shocked.

Crap, so this will be difficult. "No, I haven't. And if you had any sense about who your best friend is, you would do this with me."

Juniper was sitting next to Grover on the tree trunk bench out in the forest. She just sat there quietly, not saying anything because I guessed she didn't want to make Grover more angry.

"Annabeth, I know who my best friend is, and don't think for a minute that I don't. But Chiron is handling this, and so is every other god on Olympus (besides the ones that don't care…ehem, mom). He said it was dangerous, so I think we should just let them take care of it."

I sighed with frustration. There was the word again. Dangerous. Did it matter to me? Nope, not one bit.

"Grover, I am not just leaving this up to them. I am going to help one way or another, and it seems to me that the best way to start is to search for Percy."

"Why would you bother when there might be anything to find?," he said with a pained face.

My face sank. "Because, when I was taken away a few summers ago, when I went missing, he never gave up on me. He told me that he didn't for one second believe that I was gone forever. I won't give up on Percy, Grover. That's the least I owe him."

There was silence for a while. Grover just stared at the floor. And then he nodded his head a little, like he was realizing that we had to do this. It was our duty as best friends.

Juniper however, did not appreciate my plan that involved Grover leaving for a long time, and possibly getting him into danger.

"What? Grover! No, you can't go! Please, I don't want you to get hurt."

Grover held her hand. "Juniper, I have to do this. He's my best friend. And the searchers out there are going to need my help. And I am his protector."

"But they are already taking care of it, you heard Chiron. And he also said that it was not safe."

Juniper was pleading with everything she had not to let Grover escape from her grasps.

"Think of her, Juniper," he whispered.

"Who?," she said confused.

"Annabeth", he said quieter.

Great, drag my feeling about the situation into this, Satyr. Thanks so much.

"Her and Percy…"he started. "Imagine if I went missing. Would you come looking for me?"

Juniper screamed, "Of course!"

"Then think of what she is going through. She and I have to do this."

Juniper thought long and hard. And then she stood up, and walked towards me, while never releasing her eyes from mine.

"Okay. Good luck to both of you. And please, be safe."

She hugged us both, and added a kiss to Grover's. Then she stood up on top of the tree trunk bench with her hands on her hips as she ordered,

"Now, go and rescue that son of Poseidon."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: We Meet A Brick With A Rainbow Tattoo 19:18

Was this my first real mission? No.

Was I trained properly for this kind of endangerment? Absolutely.

Could I handle this quest and fight to the best of my ability? Most definitely.

Was I worried? You can bet on it.

I know that I had already been through a lot of tough cases in my past, like defeating a Titan lord with my best friends, for instance. But still, we were dealing with something that not only found a way to sneak past our camp boundaries, but also succeeded in kidnapping one of our campers. This would be worse, much worse. Grover and I debated this as we were packing my bags up (again) in my cabin.

"If this quest will be harder than last summer, than why isn't it this year's Great Prophecy?," Grover questioned. I had to admit, I was confused by that too. Something that caused this much tension only could be someone important enough to be in the prophecy.

"Maybe it is, we don't know."

"Ha! Well I certainly will be ticked off if it is! We have already had our fare share at the Great Prophecy. And I say we've had enough."

I had always thought of the prophecy ever since the words escaped Rachel's mouth. I couldn't help it, it's what I do. I think too much about things. People had told me to forget it, you finished your job already. But still, I found speaking and pondering over those same words I heard last summer.

"Seven half bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall,

An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the doors of death."

"Not exactly the most positive prophecy I have ever heard," Grover mentioned obviously.

"Are they ever? Even if this quest has nothing to do with the prophecy, we still have a lot facing us here. We need to make sure that we are prepared."

We packed everything we could that wouldn't weigh us down on our trip. We made sure that we gathered all of the essentials: Grover's reed pipes, my dagger, and plenty of nectar and ambrosia (chances are, we were going to need it). Chiron had finally returned with, I might add, no new news. We met up with him for lunch in the big house, where he discussed our mission with us.

"I don't intend to send you two alone. It is far to risky to be put into such danger with little backup. I have decided to send two more campers with you," Chiron insisted.

Not Clarisse. Not Clarisse. Not Clarisse.

"Clarisse, of course. She is One of the eldest campers and trained magnificently for battle," he stated.

Really? Was fate out to get me? That was true about Clarisse being an excellent fighter, but I couldn't help but remember that Clarisse, plus other people, equals complications. As if on cue, Clarisse emerged into the large room and had a seat next to Grover.

"Hey Wise Girl, Tree Hugger," she said with an acknowledging nod to both of us. I wasn't sure whether she was using Percy's nickname for me to create tension, or if it just slipped out of habit.

"How's that sting?" So it was going to be like that? Definite complications.

"And another Demigod. Someone extremely rare, one you have never met before. A son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Clarisse made a disgusted face. "A child from the rainbows? Really? And how exactly is this going to help us. Is he going to distract our enemies by making them a pretty little rainbow?

When she spoke, a demigod who no one would expect to be a child of Iris, stood behind her. Clarisse gulped (Which I loved to witness).

He was tall, easily over six feet. Butch muscles ripping out of his shirt, and they were the kind of muscles that football players would strain to build. His hair was shaved off, and his face was formed very bulky-like. And it almost had a red tint to it. And his arm was, appropriately, a rainbow tattoo. Butch circled the table and slid on the bench next to me, making it shift a little.

Chiron introduced us immediately. "Butch, this is Grover Underwood, our Satyr and Percy's protector-" Butch shook hands with Grover, while I should say Grover was shaking. "-and this is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." I didn't shake Butch's hand. He just gave me a shy smile, probably knowing every little detail about this mission, seeing as nothing is a secret in camp. When Chiron introduced Butch to Clarisse, she wouldn't look at him. I guesses that she was too embarrassed. I decided to take the moment of silence as an opportunity to speak up.

"We would like to leave right after lunch. We'll take the Pegasi southwest, and hope to find any leads there. Everyone will need a shield-" I eyed Butch as I said this. Just because he looked like a brick wall, did not mean that he was a human shield. "-and at least two weapons."

"Sounds good to me," rainbow boy said.

"And where exactly are we planning to arrive?" Clarisse smirked.

"That we don't know yet. We'll look for any clues or changes, and see if we can lead off of those. It won't be easy, but I think we can manage," I assured them.

"And how long are we continuing this search, Annabeth?"

"I don't know. As long as we need to."

"And how are we planning to defeat an army if it's just the four of us?"

She was pushing my last nerve. I expected that this would happen, but not beofre our quest had even begun. Could she really be this annoying?

Chiron, thank Zeus, was the one to shut her up.

"No one is to fight off any army. You are merely to discover some answers. If you come across Percy and he is unthreatened, then you are free to return him safely to camp. But if any trouble so happens to come your way, you are to message me immediately."

I spoke up again. "Exactly. Chances are, we aren't going to be able to do this on our own. The more help, the better."

Grover mentioned, "But does that necessarily mean that there will be a big, torturous battle? I kind of promised Juniper there wouldn't be one."

I mentioned, "We can't be sure whether or not we will encounter that, but it is a slight possibility."

"Well, that's terrific," he groaned.

"We had this discussion with her last night, Grover. You are Percy's protector and his best friend. She needs to understand." I said annoyed.

Grover looked aggravated that this subject was coming up again. But he also looked guilty, like he didn't want to tell Juniper that he was going to fight if that's what it came down to.

Butch laughed a little. "I guess girlfriends will be girlfriends. Always over-protective."

Grover smiled a little at that. But I just glared. It really wasn't the best thing he could have said at the time, not with me sitting right next to him. I was about one foot away from him, so close that I could have just brought my shield up to his huge head and knocked him unconscious. I could have done that if it weren't for Chiron, who possible noticed the look across my face, when he spoke up again.

"Well, this is where I leave you young ones. From now on, you are on your own. Take care and be safe, Heroes of Olympus."

And he galloped of towards the climbing wall.

Grover was the first to speak up.

"Heroes of Olympus, No pressure right? So, I guess we leave now," it sounded more like a question.

"Yes," I answered. "Now we leave."

And all four of us marched ourselves through camp, and climbed on our Pegasi. It felt kind of strange, realizing that Nico wasn't here. Maybe Chiron still didn't trust him yet to believe that he should come on the quest with us. But I couldn't control that. As we flew over the hills, I took one last look at my home. I would be back here. And when I was, I would have Percy there with me.

We had been flying for about five hours when Grover started to complain.

"Uh, guys. I really need a tin can"

Rainbow boy made a face. "Dude, ew, for what"

"UH! I'm a satyr. I eat them you dummie!"

Clarisse spoke up. "And It's getting really dark, Annabeth."

"We haven't been flying that long."

Grover pushed more. "But I need to stretch. It's not good for a half goat to stay in one position for a while."

"And how exactly did you learn that, Grover?," I asked.

"When I lost the feeling in my butt five minutes ago.

Clarisse and Butch chuckled.

"Alright, I guess we could stop for the night. We need to set up camp somewhere. Anyone see a place?"

We were flying over a forest, and there was nothing but trees surrounding every inch of the ground. I almost was about to fly lower when Butch said,

"Over there, see that clearing?"

I had to squint to see where he was pointing, but eventually, I did see it. We flew down and tied up our winged horses to near trees around us. I reached into my sack and pulled out a sugar cube.

"Hear you go Blackjack." The Pegasis gladly ate the treat while I helped that others set up a camp. Clarisse used Mamer to light a fire, while Grover sat on a tree stump, eating tin cans. Butch and I set up two tents, and the beds up inside. We were almost done with the boys' tent when he asked me,

"So, you and Percy…you were pretty close then huh?"

I stiffened. I hadn't expected him to ask me anything like this.

"Yeah, he's my best friend," I said, which wasn't lying.

He looked at me, his red face a little puzzled.

"And you still believe that he's out there somewhere?"

I sighed. "I know he is, and I don't care about what the rumors say. I have to hope that he's alive. And it's up to me to find him."

"It's up to us," he said plainly.

I smiled. "Yeah, it's up to us."

When we came out from the tent, we found Clarisse rummaging through our sacks, bringing out all the food she could carry. I guess she thought that it would be all for her. Well, too bad. When Butch and I walked by, we helped ourselves each to a third of Clarisse's pile. She didn't say anything though, which was good I guess. She just out that familiar scowl on her face.

Dinner was mostly quiet. And by the end of it, when I was climbing into my sleeping bag, I feeling came over me. I felt lost. I was with plenty of others, and I had survival gear, but I didn't know where to go. Where was Percy? Exactly where was I supposed to go to find my answers? I had no clue. Again, it was a situation where I felt clueless. That was happening a lot lately, and I was not too fond of it. I brought my blankets up to my face, and I lay there with my eyes open. Open with fear that I might not succeed in this mission. That I would let everyone down, even Percy. Even myself. I needed guidance. So I prayed silently to my mother.

_Please, please, help me mom. I need you._

And after closing my eyes, I drifted of.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: I Almost Get Sick From My Deam 00:29

My mind felt like it was traveling two hundred miles an hour. Fast enough that if this wasn't a dream, it would feel as if my skin would peel off of my face. I was moving at warp-speed and I wasn't sure where I was headed. Colors started to appear in the picture, which I'm guessing meant that I was starting to see where I was. I slowed down, and down, and down. Then, I was suspended, hanging, no floating, from the ceiling of a great room. The room was large and grand. It had marble floors and gold trimming around the ceiling. And then I realized where I was. It was the throne room on Mount Olympus. The only thing that kept me from recognizing it was that only Zeus, Poseidon, and Hera's thrones were built (Of course, theirs were built first, they wouldn't have it any other way). I stared down at the marble floor designs until they made me dizzy. And then without warning, I was dropped, falling downward, screaming my head off. Before my body could smack against the hard stone, my body turned up, and I landed on my feet. I spun around, taking in the craziness that I had just encountered. I kept rotating until in front of me was someone I recognized.

"Mom?"

"Hello, Annabeth. We don't have that much time, but you were right. You need some help, and I can't just ignore you," Athena answered.

"So, your going to tell me everything?" I asked with a hopeful look across my face.

She laughed a little. "Now why would I take out all of the fun in this mission?"

She was amused by her answer, but I could only scowl at her remark. This was not fun. This was mockery.

"That's not funny mom," I stated simply.

When she smiled a little at my face, I turned. Or, at least I tried to turn. I couldn't really control where to go, or what to do. It was like it wasn't my body.

"Okay, you're right. What I meant was, I can't tell you everything. But I cannot sit back and let you feel so alone."

I waited. I didn't want to interrupt her, not while she was about to go on a roll. She was going to tell me something. And this just might be the break that I was looking for. The key to finding Percy!

"The boy with one shoe," she said.

What? Were we playing the random game or something?

Unicorn. Guacamole. Ethiopia.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"That's who you need to find. He has the answer," she said sharply.

Okay?

"And where am I supposed to find this boy exactly?"

"I don't know where this boy is. He could be anywhere, and that is the truth, sweetheart. You will have to discover that for yourself. But I do need you to go somewhere for me first."

"Okay, where?"

"The Grand Canyon. You know, that deep rocky area that you humans find so fascinating," she said with a roll of her eyes, knowing that if humans saw what I was laying my eyes on right now, it would be nothing compared to the Grand Canyon.

But all the way to Colorado? That was a journey that would take days. Days that would only add on to Percy's disappearance. And who knows if this guy with a missing shoe is going to be there by the time that we arrive? The odds were not looking in our favor. There better be a good reason for why she would have me flying miles around America, when this was not the place that I would find my answer.

"What's at the Grand Canyon?" I asked a little discouraged, learning that I wasn't going to get all the answers that I wanted.

"Three demigods who need to be brought back to camp. They have their protector with them as well, Gleeson Hedge. You need to find all of them, and make sure to return them to camp safely.

Camp? All the way back to camp? She has got to be kidding me! We cannot abandon this mission to fly all the way back to New York.

"NO! We have to find Percy. I am not going to waist my time and go back to camp," I demanded.

"You must. Let Grover look for Percy, darling. He is his protector after all. You will listen to me. It is your duty to return them to Chiron before something happens to them."

I was shocked. I was angry. And it did not help when the person I was shocked and angry at was my mother (who just happened to be a super strong goddess with a temper).

"You just expect me to abandon my quest to find them?"

"Trust me. Find the three demigods. Find Gleeson. And return them to Chiron. You will find the boy with one shoe soon. But do this for me first."

I took a deep breath. Trust her. Okay, I could do that. But then again, the last time she said that, Percy was taken. So, what was I going to do now? Well, I couldn't say no. She was a goddess for Zeus' sake. She could make me do anything she wanted practically. Just look at where I am now! But it had more to do with the fact that I wanted to trust her. She was my mother.

"Okay, I'll do it. But as soon as I am done, I am going to rescue Percy," I forced the words to escape my mouth. It was harder than I thought.

She sighed. "Once you rescue these demigods, your plans might change. But that's all I can say, no more. I must leave you now," she stated.

Before she could sweep her hand, I leaped forward, well, I tried to. I cried, "Mom! Wait, don't!"

But it was too late. I was warping back out of the room, going faster and faster. I thought that nothing would have been worse than traveling forward at this speed. I was wrong. Backwards, much, much worse. I was feeling nauseated. I was going to be sick anytime. Is that possible? To throw up in a dream. Well, it certainly felt like it. This time, it didn't slow. It just stopped suddenly, making me open my eyes and gasp so loudly that Clarisse (the world's loudest snorer) actually woke up.

I bolted upright in my sleeping bag.

Clarisse was rubbing her eyes, and groaned, annoyed that I disturbed her "beauty" sleep.

"Uh! Annabeth! What the Hades happened?"

"Dream…I think?"

She look puzzled. "You think? Well, you aren't there now aren't you? So that must mean that you we dreaming. And your mom's the Wisdom Goddess right?"

"That's not what I meant. I think it was a-a vision or something."

She looked even more stunned now. "Vision? Okay, about what exactly?"

I was about to mumble out an answer when the zipper on the tent opened, and Butch and Grover stood in the entryway. Grover held a stick in his hand.

"Is everyone okay? We heard screaming."

He swung the stick around in a protective circling motion. It would have been taken totally seriously if he hadn't been wearing forest animal footy pajamas. Butch was wearing a white tank top and sweats. You could see his muscles in the moonlight, and they would have looked nice if he hadn't been so…well…huge! It was more frightening than anything. Did he say screaming? Had I been?

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "She's fine, She just had a bad dream."

Everyone seemed to calm down a little. But I didn't. I was still shaking from my visit from mom.

"I didn't have a nightmare. It was a message-a-vision," I exclaimed.

"A vision?" Grover knelt down by my, trying to stop my unsteadiness.

"My mom, she visited me and talked to me."

"What did she say?" Butch and Grover asked together.

Clarisse flopped back down on her pillow.

"Can this please wait until morning?" She asked.

Grover didn't pay attention to her though. "Annabeth, what did she say?"

As I explained every detail of my dream to the three of them, Clarisse paid barley any attention, Butch sat in the corner of the tent quietly, and Grover didn't take his eyes off of me. I didn't leave out one speck of information. I started at the part from traveling as fast as light, to nearly vomiting before I woke up. I even regrettably told them what my mother said about Grover moving on in the quest, and me starting an entirely different one. After I finished describing the vision, they were all quiet for a moment. Maybe they were processing it all.

Grover stood up and said, "So we all go and find these demigods, correct?"

Not correct.

"No, I have to go and find these demigods. You are Percy's protector, which means that you have to continue on flying."

He laughed a little. "Annabeth, I am not going to let you leave without any backup." an laugh

"I can take care of myself," I stated sharply.

But Grover just wouldn't accept that. "Nope, not a chance."

"You have to go. My mom said you do, it's your job to protect him, not me."

He sighed. "Alright, but you aren't going alone! We'll split up. Who's going with Annabeth? Clarisse?"

Clarisse threw her head back and let out a huge laugh.

"Ha! No way. If you think that I am going to miss the biggest fight ever to sidetrack and find little demigods, than you are crazy."

I grumbled. "You aren't gong to fight them Clarisse, Chiron won't let you remember?"

"So? I'm not missing this for the world. Your mom can tell you what to do, but she can't order me around." And she slumped back down into her pillow for the second time.

"Okay," Grover said. "Looks like Butch will have to go with you."

"Grover, really, I can do this on my own. It would go faster," I argued.

If I went on my own, no one would have to follow me, or protect me. And plus, it would mean that more people were working on the real mission we were supposed to accomplish.

I almost thought that Rainbow Boy had dropped dead until he decided to speak up.

"No, he's right. You need backup."

Lovely.

Grover looked from me, to Butch, and then back to me again.

"Okay, so when are you leaving for the Grand Canyon?"

"The sooner the better," Clarisse mumbled from under her covers. I had a feeling that she said it no because of how long the journey would take, but more like she said it because I woke her up at three in the morning and she couldn't wait until I left.

"We can leave first thing after sunrise," I said, partly to annoy Clarisse.

"Great," Grover said. "And in case I don't see you tomorrow morning, be safe Annabeth. You too Butch."

"No worries, man."

They both started to leave the tent, but I quickly mentioned something else.

"Wait, the boy with one shoe."

"Excuse me?" Asked Grover.

"You have to look for the boy with one shoe. He has the answers. The clue to finding Percy," I stated.

"Alright, we'll look for him. Iris message me as soon as you deliver the others to camp so you can find us when you are done."

"Okay. Good luck Satyr," I smirked.

"Same to you, Wise Girl"

They both left the tent without another word. I ran my hands through my thick curly hair, not believing what I had agreed to. What would Percy think, abandoning him like this? He never did that to me. I felt like a lousy person. The last thing I need is Seaweed Brain thinking that I don't care about him. But I do, and as soon as I was done with this mini mission, I was going to prove it to him. I closed my eyes for the second time that night, and the last noise I heard was the rhythm of Clarisse's snoring.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: I Try To Kill My Attacker

I am not a morning person. During the school year, I dread waking up earlier than usual to make sure that I arrive to class on time. I get grumpy, annoyed, ticked off, and irritated. I doesn't help that I am waking up early in the summer (the only time I can actually sleep in a little), or the I am waking up on the hard ground of the inside of a tent, or the fact that Butch was already dressed, he had eaten, and was now strapping a bag to other side of his Pegasis. I was not dressed, I was starving, and I was no where near packing anything yet. I was expecting him to be annoyed that I wasn't ready, and that it would mean that our mission was delayed. But he turned and smiled, saying, "Morning, we still have about a half an hour. Take your time."

I smiled back and went back inside the tent, dressing first, and then grabbing an apple after. I filled by sack with my knife, some more food, and nectar. When I was ready about fifteen minutes later, I walked over to Blackjack, gave him a sugar cube, and strapped my back to his right side.

The sun was just beginning to rise now. You couldn't really see it at ground level, being smothered by the trees, so we decided that it would be a good time to take off. We climbed just above the height of the forest, and sure enough, the faint glow of the sunrise was casting out over the clouds. It was still a little chilly and I could feel the cold sting my cheeks. I had better get used to it though. To go to Colorado would take at least three straight days by Pegasi. It would be a long, and dragging trip.

I wondered what Grover was doing. No doubt he would be awake by now, but I'm not so sure that Clarisse would be. They might make their way southeast more later in the morning. I wondered if they might find the boy with the missing shoe before I did. I could be at camp, delivering these children to Chiron, while Grover finds the boy, gets the answers that I have been looking for, rescues Percy, and the only chance I get at taking part in that quest was the little vision I received. My mom said that I will find the boy, but does that literally mean ME? Or does it mean the team in general?

By the end of the first day flying, I could tell that we were somewhat just entering the Midwest. The mountains started to flatten, and the ground became patch-like, sort of looking like a quilt. It was about five-thirty, and I knew that we might have to stop soon. Flying in the dark is not the best. You can go by the moonlight to see where you are going, but one minute you could be squinting to visualize, and the next, a giant airplane is soaring next to you. Or you could keep on getting blown off track, and later you realize that you have been traveling in circles for two days. I wasn't ready to risk any of those delaying problems to cross our path, so I told Butch that now would be a good time to rest and get some sleep. It wasn't that hard to find good place to set up camp this time. There were millions of clearings, and only a few chunks of trees. We picked the closest batch of them, and settled down along the edge. We had to leave a tent for Grover and Clarisse, of course. So Butch and I set up our only tent, and after eating, went right to sleep.

I was moving faster now, faster, and faster. I was screaming, I could hear myself now. Someone had their hands on my shoulders, pinning me down to the ground. I grabbed at them, trying to release the strong, dangerous hold that was not letting me move an inch. I scraped harder, clawing at air and not able to grab my attacker's face. He was saying something to me now, talking, more like yelling my name. Over and over. What was his plan? And then I gasped awake, looking into the hard, red face of Butch. He had his hands on my shoulders and called my name again.

"What-what happened?" I asked.

He laughed. "Bad dream? Or was it your vision. Although I don't recall you trying to kill someone the last time it happened."

"Sorry, I thought you were-it was a bad dream, and I guess I thought you were trying to hurt me."

He sat back down on his sleeping back, and brought his knees up to his chest.

"So it wasn't your mom then? Now new news?"

I shock my head twice. "None. Sorry I woke you up."

"It's cool. What time do you want to start up tomorrow?"

All I could think about was finishing this little job for my mother so I could get back to what was most important.

"Same time as today? Is that okay?"

"Sure thing," he said while he was yawning.

We both a little trouble falling back to sleep that night. My guess was that we had about a day and a half left of flying to do yet, which meant that the more sleep we got, the easier it would be.

We woke up the time we agreed on, and were in the air just as the sun shone over the fields below us. We flew straight that day, trying to avoid any major cities with major a airports. We stopped to eat lunch and rest for an hour, and then we returned to our rides. The rest of that afternoon past by in a blur. The flat lands of the Midwest continued on for what felt like forever. Mile after mile, the monotony continued. Finally, when the sun had set, and we couldn't see more than ten feet in front of us, we had no choice but to land and spend the night.

"It doesn't seem like we are getting anywhere," I said while we were tying up our Pegasi.

Butch grabbed the tent and started to connect the poles a few yards away.

"Well, we know we are getting closer to Colorado. We can't be that far away now," he reassured me.

We ate what was left of our main course meals. Looked like from that point until we arrived back at camp, we would be living off of granola bars and pudding cups. My yawn signaled me that it was time to get some rest. I announced that I was turning in for the night, and Butch agreed. We climbed into the tent without any words and I lay down quietly. I opened my eyes a little to see Butch sitting up, and looking at me.

"What?" I asked my question with my eyebrows scrunched together.

He shifted. "Nothing," he said.

"You may as well say it, you might forget to ask me later."

I didn't know what he was about to ask me, but I drove me nuts when people didn't say what was on their minds. Okay, I will admit to having done that many time before. But I was passed that phase now. I always stated what I was thinking. Most of the time.

"It's not that important," he said, sinking into his sleeping bag.

I sighed. "Come on. Spill it. Now"

He turned his head so it was facing my direction, but he refused to make any eye contact with me.

"I was wondering. You seem so bottled up about this mission. Why is that?"

I made a face. "What do you mean? I tell you everything we are going to do. I fill you in on everything."

"Not everything," he stated.

"What…what are you talking about?"

This time, he looked straight into my eyes. "Why did you start this mission? This obviously has to be a bigger deal than just a lost camper. What makes you so, I guess, connected to this quest?"

I didn't expect him to throw that at me. Asking to know details about why I was so involved in the job we were doing. Sure, I would still agree to finish this mission of it was just an ordinary camper. But he wanted to figure out what made Percy different from the others I knew around camp. But didn't he know that already?

"You know why, he's my boyfriend"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know that. Clarisse filled me in. But you don't want him to just be saved, Annabeth. You don't care about that," he said.

"Of course I do! Having him saved means everything to me!"

"No, you saving him means everything. Admit it, you are jealous of Clarisse and Grover right now because you want to be the one to save Percy. Why do you care so much about saving him yourself? Why can't you be happy with just Chiron, or the others finding him?"

"They don't know him like I do. And plus, he did it for me when-," I started.

"When what?"

I paused for a moment. Did I really need to tell Butch all of this. No. I could simply refuse to answer and ignore him. But somehow, I felt that I wanted to. I told him about the summer when I went missing. I explained how frightened I was, and how Percy came to look for me.

"He never gave up, so neither will I," I said.

Butch nodded, but didn't say a word. He covered himself in blankets, and fell asleep. I did the same.

I woke up later the next morning. I could hear birds chirping around us, and the faint glow of the rising sun illuminated our tent. I woke Butch up, explaining to him that we were late. We shoved down a couple of granola bars before we loaded up our gear, and took off. Butch didn't talk to me the entire rise about our conversation last night. It was uncomfortable to even think about it. We were only flying for fifteen minutes when I could start to see the landscape change. Hills turned to cliffs. Grassy plains morphed into rocks and sand. We were getting so close, I could taste the Grand Canyon. Butch noticed this too, and squinted ahead. He pointed ahead of him. I squinted my eyes, and looked as far as they would allow me. I couldn't make anything out. Then he shock his head and pointed a little upward from where I was looking. A storm, an enormous one, was forming over the Canyon. You could see the swirling winds. But what caught me eye most was that the clouds didn't span away from it either. It was one giant thunder cloud, surrounding only one targeted area. This was not normal, which meant that it was not good either.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

Something was very wrong. The clouds sweeping around the rocks in a motion that could send anyone flying feet into the air. I looked over at Butch, who's face was equally filled with worry, and confusion. I told Blackjack to fly downward, and faster. There was no way we were going to fly into that cloud. That was literally asking for death. Besides, whatever was happening in that area was not looking good. As we approached closer and closer, I could now see that it was not just any ordinary storm. I could make out a figure who had just been wrapped up in a funnel cloud. I looked at another person, and as when I could see better, I could tell that he had horns. Gleeson. This was the place my mom was talking about. There were three demigods down there in danger, and in a fight. A fight that we now had to join. We dove faster and faster. And then suddenly, one figure vanished. All that remained in his place was a gray vapor. I flew as fast as I could, but it was only getting worse down there. How could I tell? Well, a moment later, a high-pitched scream came and a girl, and she fell off the side of the Canyon. Oh, no. What if that was one of the demigods, one of the ones I was supposed to keep safe? I saw another person, a boy, leap of the edge. This was turning completely ugly. Well, uglier. I turned to look at Butch. He was shaking his head with astonishment.

"We have to get down there. Now!" And as he said the words, he ordered his Pegasi to dive more.

I looked back up now, it was harder to see as we got closer to the storm. Raindrops stung my eyes and the wind added did not help either. But regardless, I still found myself flying into the cloud.

Then, the ice rain lightened. And although the wind had died down, and the cloud had reduced in size, the lightning was still going on. The cloud parted in front of us, and I could see three people, two boys and one girl, on the platform below us. No Satyr. Oh, no. Where was he? This wasn't good. Hopefully, no one else would disappear.

They gazed up and stared as if we were an illusion. We landed right away, and I jumped off Blackjack so fast it made me dizzy. I saw them then. I saw them up close. They were bruised, and hurt. I looked at one of the boys. His clothes were drenched, his hair sparkling with the sunlight hitting the rain in it. And as I moved my eyes down, I so something that made me gasp inside. He wore one shoe. This was the boy. He knew where Percy was. I took no chances though. Who knew if I could trust him? I pulled my knife, and ran up to the first boy, the one with one Nike.

"Where is he?" I demanded.

He looked shocked by my fierceness with him. "Where's who?"

So he didn't know. Or was he playing with me? I was confused, tricked. Were they demigods? Kidnappers? I couldn't tell. How could my mom do this to me?

I dropped the subject of Percy for now. We would have plenty of time to talk about whether or not they were kidnappers, so I decided to go with the road that they were demigods. I turned to the other two.

"What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

The other boy spoke up. "He got taken by some…tornado things"

"Venti," said the first boy. "Storm Spirits"

He knew more than I thought he would. He knew that monsters existed, which meant that he might already know that he is a halfblood.

"You mean anemoi thuellai? That's the Greek term," I smirked. Okay, I will admit, I was showing off a bit. "Who are you, and what happened?"

"We were on a field trip," he started. He continued his story about how one of his classmates turned into a storm and attacked them. He told us about how Gleeson was protecting them, and how Piper (who I guessed was the girl) got thrown off of the cliff. I didn't realize it until the end of the story, but Butch had moved his position so he was standing next to us.

Nothing in his story matched my mother's theory of the boy with one shoe. Here he was, right in front of me, and he hadn't said anything to me about Percy.

"No, no, no!" I yelled. "She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer."

Butch came closer to me, with a bit of astonishment in his voice.

"Annabeth, check it out," he said. "The guy with one shoe, he's the answer."

Really Rainbow Boy? I hadn't noticed that.

"No, Butch. He can't be. I was tricked."

I threw my head up to the sky, giving a message to my mother straight from my aggravated head. "What do you want from me? What have you done with him?"

The platform beneath us shook, and I could tell the mom did not appreciate the harshness of my words. But I didn't care.

Butch was the one that remembered our mission and our duty. "Annabeth, we gotta leave. Let's get these three back to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."

I knew we had to go. I was still frustrated about not getting my answers, even though I found the boy. I would have to make a note to Iris message Grover and tell him that it was no use looking for the boy anymore.

"Fine," I said. And I looked straight at the first boy saying, "We'll settle this later."

I marched off in the other direction and made room on Blackjack for two more riders. Butch would be able to only carry one, being his size. I waited for a bit while Butch was making conversation with the three. They were making their way slowly over to me while talking quietly. Butch seemed cautious with his words, afraid to speak up, and the others walked a few paces behind him. They were hesitant, and looked like they weren't so sure that they should get near us. I helped the first boy and the girl named Piper onto Blackjack while the other boy sat on the other Pegasis, hidden by Butch who positioned himself behind him.

When I climbed up in front of the two riding behind me, I said, "Alright, hang on tight."

They obeyed and the girl with the braids held on tighter than before.

We flew high, making sure that we were completely out of range in case something might want to surprise us again. No one really spoke any words. It was a quiet rip, full of awkward silence. I suppose it was from shock that we were riding on flying horses. Or maybe they were shy. Nope, defiantly the Pegasi were freaking them out. When I first arrived to camp, the flying horses never astounded me. I suppose I was a lot younger at that age than the sixteen year olds riding with us now. I still probably believed that unicorns existed, and therefore was used to the idea.

The wordless trip only filled with one voice at the very beginning.

"So," said the boy sitting behind Butch. "Where is this camp?"


	9. Author's Note: Please Understand!

**Hey everybody!**

**AC here. Just wanted to leave a quick author's note for you.**

**First off, I would just like to thank you all for the commentary. I appreciate it more than you can imagine. It's a great feeling knowing that you might not only enjoy reading the story, but have your own personal opinions on it as well. Reading and writing are two of my favorite things to do. And even though I love to share it with all of you, I mostly head my story in the direction where I want to take it. Literally, one day I woke up and said, hm, I think I want to write my own story about Percy Jackson! Just for my own entertainment. And then when Rick Riordan released his first two chapters of The Lost Hero online, I felt that it would be terrific to continue off of that. And that it would be even more amazing to have it come from Annabeth's point of view. It was so much fun to make up her story, to show her reactions to all of the commotion around camp! She has a very calm, yet take charge attitude towards finding Percy, and does not like to waste time. And it's awesome to see her story unravel throughout each chapter. **

**As I wrote each chapter and progressed her story, it wasn't the same as writing in Annabeth's point of view in one of the five original books. People who write different characters' POV from the already released books already know which direction they are going to take their story in. They know the outcome of the book, and therefore have an idea of how to write it. I have many ideas on how to end Annabeth's story, one in particular that I know is almost the same direction of Rick's. However, as I wrote on and on, and got closer to the point at where Jason, Leo, and Piper arrive, I started to have different thoughts. My original thought was to continue the story, following my plan for the New Great Prophecy. But as I finished Chapter Eight, I felt that I didn't want to continue. As I said, I originally wrote this just do I could see Annabeth's POV and her reactions to Percy's disappearance. I never really thought that when I got to this point in the story, that it wasn't my job to finish it. I know that this is Fan Fiction, and the purpose of this site is to write based off of other books. But The Lost Hero is an unfinished story. And it started to feel wrong to me as a person to continue Rick Riordan book before it was released.**

**Now, I have no clue what I want to do. I mostly feel that I should continue, but then there is that little feeling that this is not my story to finish that is holding me back. I haven't made up my mind yet, and I am not sure where I will go with my decision. Chances are, that I will continue with Annabeth's POV for the fun of it. But it could, COULD, NOT WILL, be after the Lost Hero is released. The reasons for this are not because I am stuck, and have no idea where to go from here, because I do. I just need to make my decision on whether or not I fell it's right to do it. I understand that you might not be too happy about this and feel that I am being ridiculous, but this is how I feel as a READER to Rick Riordan. **

**As for Macy Blaire, the story that AM my cousin is writing, I have no idea where she wants to take it. Since it combines with Annabeth's story, it will be on hold for a little bit too. But honestly, she never tells me what she wants to do. She always surprises me. But you are free to read those first two chapters of her story as well. **

**I want to thank you again for the few people who read my story and let you know that I need just a little time to think. My decision will not be based on whether or not I NEED to finish my story, but WANT to for fun, and the people who like to read it. Please understand the sticky situation that I am in right now, and I apologize if you are soooooo incredibly mad at me right now. I am not holding out on you, I swear. I am just taking some time to figure out what I feel is right. **

**Thanks so much for everything! Enjoy my story. Keep Writing and keep reading **** -AC**


End file.
